Salem State President John Keenan reflects on first year

William J. Dowd wdowd@wickedlocal.com @WJD_MHDReporter

Thursday

Aug 23, 2018 at 12:06 PM

“It went by very, very fast to tell you the truth,” said Salem State University President John Keenan in a sit-down interview with the Salem Gazette to reflect on his first year in the university’s corner office. “I never aspired to be a university president, but I’m thrilled to be here in this role. No two days are the same.”

He characterized the job as fast paced, multifaceted, physically demanding, rewarding, stimulating and unlike any other he’s held in a diverse public-service career. To be exact, Aug. 7 marked Keenan’s first year milestone as university president.

Over the past year, the campus witnessed more than one anti-Semitic and racist graffiti incident and mourned the murder of a graduating senior.

“Christopher Joyce’s death was challenging and sad and came at a celebratory time,” said Keenan, who called Joyce’s death “a punch in the stomach.” “I hope we never have to go through something like that again.”

To honor his memory, the university established a scholarship in Joyce’s name. On the day of commencement, Keenan said he handed Joyce’s mother his diploma.

In Keenan’s first couple months, the bigotry-laced incidents sparked difficult but needed-to-be-had conversations about campus diversity and inclusivity issues, he said.

Keenan expressed a pride in students taking a stand and voicing their opinions, and in response, a “Bias Response Team” was formed.

With a $140,000 grant, the university established the Forten Scholars Early College Program. The program is named after the university’s first African-American graduate, Charlotte Forten, and provides Salem high school students opportunities to enroll in general-education classes.

“They can dual enroll and earn college credit before they graduate high school,” said Keenan.

The program dovetails into Keenan’s goal of getting more high school students on campus. Doing so, he argues, gets their noggins thinking about higher education.

“I’m a big believer in visualization,” he said. “I want to create more opportunities for them to visit the campus – whether it’s a show at the Sophia Gordon Performing Arts Center or a basketball game.”

Since Keenan’s tenure began, the university’s expanded academic programs from a bachelor’s degree in information technology to a master’s degree in accounting.

“We just got approved for a master’s degree in athletic training,” said Keenan, adding the university is working on a doctorate program in occupational therapy.

In the spring, declining enrollment in traditional and nontraditional students prompted Keenan to put a hiring freeze in place. He points, in part, to more people finding jobs and fewer 18 year olds around as factors.

The enrollment issue necessitates Keenan to get creative about not only finding new revenue streams, but also marketing the university to potential students.

He endeavors to strengthen what he called “a major partnership”- the Salem State University and North Shore Community College transfer program. In the fall of 2017, 197 North Shore Community College students transferred to Salem State University.

Since 2005, the university has hosted hundreds of Chinese students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees via the China International Exchange. Over the summer, Keenan spent three weeks in China visiting eight universities, because he sees potential in recruiting students to enroll in the university’s 1+2+1 program.

“We are going to continue to build that program,” said Keenan. “We’re also looking at universities in Vietnam.”

The construction of a South Salem commuter rail stop near the university would be a game changer, and Keenan alongside Mayor Kim Driscoll and others are figuring out how to make it a reality. He estimated the construction costs could come with a price tag as high as $25 million.

Among Keenan’s top priorities, Salem State will continue to pursue a Science Teaching Laboratory Addition to help meet a growing demand for science and health care credentials. The university submitted an application for state funding last year, but the addition was neither rejected nor approved rather pegged as a worthy project that needed more analysis.

"Without question," Keenan wrote to the university community, "this space is crucial to achieving our desired enrollment growth."

Keenan expressed his excitement for the academic year’s arrival after a busy summer. Convocation is Tuesday, Sept. 4, but before the opening of the university, Keenan joins over 200 freshmen in university’s First Year Day of Service on Aug. 31.

“Interacting with the students is the most rewarding part of this job,” said Keenan.